My glorious climax drained away slowly, small bursts firing in succession before settling to a pleasant vibration in the aftermath. I melted around him, my arms dangling down his back as my head rested on his shoulder.
He backed up and sat on the couch, keeping himself inside me. He shifted me so my face was against his neck and my torso rested against his. A warm feeling rose up inside of me as I lay, feeling his heart beat against mine. His breath against my hair. His delicious smell on my skin. I sighed in contentment.
“I’ll have to plan on taking more time with you—you’ve ruined my schedule for this evening,” he said quietly.
“I wouldn’t say ruined. A man with no life will probably hang around the office for a while longer.”
“It sounded much more dramatic the way I said it.” He kissed my temple. “I have to kick you out now, though.”
“Okay.” I lifted my face slowly and gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek. “But it was good while it lasted.”
His brow was furrowed again as we got up and dressed. I could see him trying to shut down. Trying to turn off, as he was used to doing. Instead, he kept glancing at me, something working into his expression I couldn’t read. Something like uncertainty. Or was it wariness? I needed the Hunter Carlisle cheat sheet to understand the man.
He finished dressing, giving me one last glance with that same furrowed brow before turning away. He walked to his computer without another word. Without a kiss or a hug or even a handshake. He was done, and I was dismissed.
I breathed through the uncomfortable hurt that I could not control. I knew this would come. This was his deal. He’d done it before.
Why did it suck so bad every time?
Taking a deep breath to clear that ache lodged in my middle, I finished dressing and turned to leave, trying to ignore the hollowness I felt.
“Olivia,” Hunter said, his business voice, cold and calculating, dominating his tone.
I turned with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.
He paused for a moment, with that same look working back into his eyes. “Stay online, if you would, or keep your phone close. I may need something before we leave.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said, forcing an easy-breezy tone.
As I left, I didn’t hear any clicks of his mouse or ticks of the keyboard. I glanced back as I reached the door. His head was mid-turn. He’d been watching me walk from the room.
Chapter Two
On Wednesday, the doorbell to my apartment rang as I was shoving clothes into my suitcase. I ran from my bedroom and slammed my index finger into the intercom button. “Hello?”
“Hey, Livy. It’s Bert. You ready to go?”
“Damn it!” I said under my breath. Into the intercom I said, “Yeah. Be right there.”
“I’ll come up and help.”
Of course he would. And then berate me for not being ready. Dang him for being so nice!
I pushed the button to open the outer door and left the apartment door open a crack before running back to my packing.
Yes, I should’ve been ready to go. And yes, I’d had yesterday off to do it. But I didn’t want to let Hunter down. I wanted to land this business guy, and to do that, I had to know something about him. So yesterday, when I should’ve been getting ready, I was doing the equivalent of cramming for a test.
Well…that and daydreaming about Hunter. The man kept popping into my head whenever I had a second of idle time. Or when I was in the middle of something. Or…really, all the time. I couldn’t get the guy out of my head. It was as pleasant as it was distracting.
I raced to my dresser and yanked open the top drawer. I grabbed undergarments willy-nilly. The silky nighties got balled with the cotton briefs and all got tossed into the suitcase.
“Livy?” Bert called from the entrance of my apartment.
“Yeah. Just…finishing up.” I grabbed an old shirt to sleep in if I’d be alone and then silkier crap in case I was sleeping with Hunter. I really had no idea what to expect.
“Livy!” Bert stood in my doorway. “You’re just packing now?”
“Just a few things I forgot.” I snatched a few pairs of shoes and then stuffed them into the suitcase. I straightened up, my mind whirling. Undies, shirts, jeans, slacks, dresses…socks!
It had been a while since I wore runners—I needed socks. Fancy heels with jeans and a hoodie was not what I was going for.
“What were you doing yesterday?”
“I was working. I work too much, I know. Quit nagging!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were thinking it.”
Bert stepped forward as soon as the bag was zipped. “You’re starting to sound like my wife.”